Pepper grinding mills and similar condiment grinders and dispensers are generally constructed with a base for receiving and storing condiment pieces such as peppercorns. A head is mounted on the base for manual rotation relative to the base. An elongate shaft extends through the head and base and the shaft is generally coupled to the head for rotation with the head relative to the base.
A first set of grinding teeth referred to herein as the grinder cone is secured to the bottom shaft and rotates with the shaft. A second set of grinding teeth referred to as the grinder ring is secured to the base at the bottom of the mill. The grinder cone and grinder ring are constructed and arranged to cooperate and form a grinding mechanism for grinding the peppercorns or other condiment pieces stored in the base and for discharging ground particles through the grinding mechanism.
The upper portion of the tapered grinder cone may be formed with larger helical grooves juxtaposed against large gripping teeth formed around the upper portion of the grinder ring for initially receiving and cracking or crushing the peppercorns or other condiment pieces. The grinder cone and ring are formed with finer grooves and teeth in the respective lower portions or levels for grinding the pieces into smaller particles for dispensing.
Another feature found in conventional peppermill grinders is a locating device or centering device which is used for centering the shaft when the head is removed to accept condiment pieces uniformly around the shaft. For example the Peugeot (TM) peppermill uses a formed wire clip for centering the shaft within the base of the mill. The Corona (TM) peppermill centering device is a plastic centering ring having an outer perimeter or rim seated against the base of the peppermill and an inner perimeter or rim for receiving and centering the shaft in the base. The inner & outer rims are joined by spokes or webs. The Borel (TM) peppermill also uses a centering ring of plastic material for the purpose only of radial centering of the shaft. A characteristic of each of these prior art peppermill grinding assemblies is that the mechanism is not easily disassembled for cleaning and tools are generally required for this purpose. Another disadvantage often encountered in conventional peppermills is slippage of the shaft top nut or knob relative to the head during grinding of peppercorns or other condiments changing the fine/coarse setting. Even the addition of a spring loaded shaft in the Chef Specialties (TM) peppermill does not in fact prevent the knob from becoming loose and out of adjustment.